Since the earliest of times, parents have found it necessary to carry infants and young children as they travelled from place to place. This is, of course, due to the fact that infants are unable to walk and that young children easily become tired and cranky during even modest excursions. While carrying the child in one's arms, "piggyback" or on one's shoulders offers a natural unassisted solution to the necessity of transporting the child, the adult carrying the child may experience concomitant tiredness or discomfort due to the awkwardness of the weight distribution. Moreover, the displaced center of mass occurring as the result of the holding of a child can damage the adult's posture and even cause injury to the muscular, skeletal and nervous systems.
Accordingly, humans early discovered that mechanical structures could facilitate the support and carriage of an infant or child, and many mechanical aids have been developed. For example, any early cultures utilized a board or other support onto which a child was strapped, and the resulting structure was then carried on the back of the adult. Alternatively, some cultures employed baskets and slings to carry infants and, sometimes toddlers. In more modern times, infants have been transported by carriages and strollers, but these devices are limited to terrains over which these wheeled devices may be rolled.
Recently, it has become popular to transport children by employing a backpack style infant carrier comprising a metal framework supporting a fabric saddle or pouch in which the infant/child sits. A pair of straps extend over the adult's shoulders, and a belt may encircle the torso of the adult to help stabilize the infant carrier. In another solution to the infant carrier, a fabric pouch is positioned in front of the adult's chest, and this pouch is supported by straps which again extend over the shoulders of the adult. Here, the child is typically seated in the pouch facing the adult so the adult can place his/her arms around the child and, likewise, the child may place his/her arms around the neck of the adult.
While these structures have proved quite adequate in transporting children and while they are particularly suitable for transporting children a substantial distance, they nonetheless have drawbacks. Primary among these drawbacks is the relative difficulty of mounting and demounting the child with respect to the carrier. In order the meet the need for temporary support of a child, especially during walking, and the need for quick mounting and demounting of the child, several types of hip carriers have been developed. One example of such a hip carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,898 issued Feb. 20, 1990 to Columbo et al. In this device, a waist mounted carrier employs a saddle that is configured to match the shape of a waist of an adult human so as to be supported on one of the hips. This saddle is releaseably secured to the waist of the adult by means of a standard type belt which encircles the waist and is buckled in place. In one embodiment of the structure shown in the '898 Patent, the saddle is molded internally of a crescent-shaped foam body to cushion the hip of the adult as well as the buttocks of the child.
A further example of a hip-type carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,637 issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Columbo. Here, a fabric belt incorporates an integral fabric seat portion which is adapted to receive and support an infant which is positioned to face the adult wearing the infant carrier. The integral seat portion is formed by a section of the belt and by a loop of fabric that extends away from and back to the belt section at spaced locations. Upper and lower crescent-shaped panels formed as gussets interconnect the belt section and the loop portion to form an interior. A compressible foam body or bladder of air is disposed in the interior to hold the upper and lower gussets apart as well as to hold the loop of fabric and the section of belt away from one another. Opposite ends of the belt are provided with mated hook and loop fasteners, and an auxiliary safety strap is provided. A shoulder strap may also be clipped to the outer upper edge of the seat so that the infant carrier is supported not only by the waist belt but also by the shoulder strap extending around the shoulders of the adult wearer.
Despite the advances made in the past, and despite the advantages present in the devices shown in the '898 Patent and the '637 Patent, there remains a need for improved infant carriers which are comfortable to wear and which adequately support a child while being held, especially during transport. A need especially exists for such an infant carrier that can serve the dual purpose of an infant support and a storage pouch for containing auxiliary items used in caring for the infant or otherwise desired to be carried by the adult. This is especially true since the carrying of the child on such a hip carrier makes it difficult to carry other packs or bags to contain such items.